Innovations et progrès

1. a)It was introduced last September at Riverside High School in Manchester, the first school in the region to do so. The device listens to the lesson, writes a summary and sends it to the student's phone before dinner. (1 pt) (1)
2. b)Reformulation attendue : before the notebook, pupils spent the whole lesson copying ; now they can listen, look at the teacher, ask questions and take part in discussions. Toute reprise mot à mot du texte est pénalisée. (1 pt) (1)
3. c)She means that the machine produces the summary instead of the student : nobody has done the intellectual work of selecting and reformulating, so nobody has really understood the lesson. Writing, for her, is part of thinking. (1 pt) (1)
4. d)The technology was adopted before any rule or law was written to control it. The problem referred to is the storage of the recordings abroad, on servers the school does not own, with only a short form signed by the parents. (1 pt) (1)

Repère — Une question d’inférence ne se copie pas dans le texte : on cite un indice, puis on explique ce qu’il implique.

1. a)footprint — a carbon footprint = une empreinte carbone. (1 pt) (1)
2. b)servers — les serveurs ; on accepte aussi computers ou machines si le sens est respecté. (1 pt) (1)
3. c)a major / decisive breakthrough for medicine. (1 pt) (1)
4. d)reliable data but biased algorithms. (1 pt) (1)

Le point clé — Data ne prend jamais de -s : on écrit reliable data, jamais reliable datas.

1. a)so — so + adjectif (useful) + that. (1 pt) (1)
2. b)such a — such a + adjectif + nom dénombrable singulier (issue) + that. (1 pt) (1)
3. c)failed / would be — hypothèse imaginaire : if + prétérit, would + base verbale. (1 pt) (1)
4. d)The recordings are stored abroad; the association therefore demanded a public debate. (On accepte : …abroad; therefore, the association demanded a public debate.) (1 pt) (1)

Erreur fréquente — So se met devant un adjectif seul, such devant un groupe nominal : so useful that… mais such a useful device that…

1. a)Proposition : « It could be argued that the device is useful, at least to a certain extent. » Toute tournure de nuance correcte est acceptée (I would argue that…, It seems to me that…, to some extent). (1 pt) (1)
2. b)Admittedly — la concession précède l’objection introduite par however. (1 pt) (1)
3. c)There is no denying that technology has changed school. (On accepte : It cannot be denied that…) (1 pt) (1)
4. d)« Currently (ou At present), the new law is being discussed in Parliament and we have made a lot of progress. » Deux corrections attendues : actually → currently, et many progresses → a lot of progress. (1 pt) (1)

Attention — Actually signifie « en fait » : pour dire « actuellement », il faut currently, at present ou nowadays.

1. a)Attendus : sujet annoncé dès la première phrase, opinion explicite, registre de la lettre (Dear Editor). 1 pt, retiré si l’opinion n’apparaît qu’à la fin. (1)
2. b)Attendus : deux arguments réellement opposés, articulés par un connecteur correct. 1 pt. (1)
3. c)Attendus : une hypothèse correctement construite (if + prétérit → would, ou if + past perfect → would have). 1 pt, retiré si will apparaît après if. (1)
4. d)Attendus : conclusion introduite par un connecteur de conséquence et quatre mots du lexique de l’axe. 1 pt. Proposition rédigée : « Dear Editor, our school is about to buy an AI notebook for every student, and in my opinion this decision deserves a real debate. On the one hand, the device is genuinely useful: it takes reliable notes, saves time and allows us to listen instead of copying. On the other hand, it may weaken our memory and our ability to write. If we stopped taking notes altogether, we would probably lose the habit of selecting what matters. Admittedly, the machine is impressive; however, there is also the question of privacy, since our recordings would be stored abroad. This technology is such a powerful tool that it cannot be rolled out without rules. Therefore, I would argue that the school should test it in one class first, and ask students, parents and teachers before making it compulsory. » (1)

À retenir — Une lettre d’opinion se juge d’abord sur ses connecteurs : annoncer, opposer, concéder, conclure.